BRUSSELS - The European Commission said on Tuesday it would judge Zaire's self-proclaimed President Laurent Kabila on his actions before any decision to restore development cooperation with the country was made. "We are saying that principles are more important than people and we are keeping close tabs on what's happening in Zaire based on principles which guide our foreign policy..." a spokesman for the EU executive told a news briefing. "Our analysis of whether they are being adhered to will determine development policy with Zaire," he said, saying no telegram had been sent to Kabila. Development cooperation between the 15-nation EU and the central African country, which Kabila has renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been suspended for several years and the spokesman said the EU executive still harboured the concerns which had led it to keep aid on ice. The EU Commissioner responsible for humanitarian aid, Emma Bonino, told members of the European Parliament she was reserving judgment on Kabila."I personally have no regrets for the one who has just past (President Mobutu Sese Seko) but I will abstain from giving comments on the new president. The acts of the next days will be very important," she said. The Commission still has concerns over access to refugees stranded in eastern Zaire and the free passage of humanitarian aid. Bonino told deputies 340,000 Rwandans were still missing, along with 40,000 Burundians. "These are our figures. Whether they are alive or not is a different story. We have no access," she said. Bonino has previously accused Kabila's rebels of deliberately trying to wipe out Hutu refugees believed to have been responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The Commission also laid emphasis on the need for free democratic elections, the Commission spokesman said, and was willing to provide logistical, technical and financial support.
